Continuous Improvement Manufacturing Engineer

IDEX Corporation•Benton Harbor, MI

About The Position

If you’re looking for a special place to build or grow your career, you’ve found it. Whether you’re an experienced professional, a recent college graduate or somewhere in between, IDEX is a place where you can apply your existing skills and learn new ones in an environment where you can make an impact. With interesting opportunities in engineering, marketing, sales, supply chain, operations, HR, finance, and more across more than 40 diverse businesses around the globe, chances are, we have something special for you. Who is GAST Manufacturing? As a business unit of IDEX Corporation, GAST Manufacturing has a long history of being the leader in design and manufacturing of quality air-moving products. We specialize in offering cost effective solutions for a wide variety of industries including industrial manufacturing, healthcare, and environmental cleanup applications. We are looking to add more talent to our team. SCOPE OF ROLE: The Continuous Improvement (CI) Manufacturing Engineer will proactively identify opportunities to eliminate waste, reduce variation, and improve productivity in manufacturing, while facilitating kaizen events with cross-functional teams to ensure seamless integration of CI principles into product and process design. This position is ideal for a hands-on problem solver who thrives in fast-paced environments and is passionate about building sustainable systems that support innovation and growth. Additionally, this role is responsible for leading the introduction of new products into manufacturing, ensuring seamless integration from design to production. This role bridges engineering, operations, and quality to deliver products that meet performance, cost, and schedule targets.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in manufacturing, business, engineering discipline, or technical degree.
5+ years of production experience preferred.
Strong continuous improvement background with knowledge of 5S, Kaizen, Lean and Value
Experience in identification of large cost centers and systematically driving improvement to obtain organizational goals for a product manufacturing facility
Value Stream Mapping
Background with selection and implementation of automated equipment
Hands on responsibility for manufacturing product quality
Advanced understanding of ISO and Quality Management Systems
History of results-based approach to developing and implementation of productivity funnel through the utilization of Kaizen
Advanced knowledge of CI tools (Mixed Model Lean, Six Sigma, SIOP, Sourcing, GDP, and KPIs)
Drive for results / high sense of urgency
Solid problem-solving methodology and demonstrated skill
Integrity and trust
Interpersonal savvy
Strong leadership and influential skills
Strong communication/presentation skills
Strong data analyzation skills and strategy development
Mentoring, development, and accountability

Responsibilities

Lead and facilitate Kaizen events, problem solving, and other lean activities to drive measurable improvements.
Develop and implement standard work, visual management systems, and 5S programs.
Identify and implement improvements for new product lines to enhance quality, cost, and delivery through 3P Kaizen methodology.
Lead cross-functional teams through the NPD (New Product Development) process from design validation to product launch.
Develop and validate manufacturing processes, packaging and labeling, testing, work instructions, standard work and tooling for new products.
Collaborate with design engineering to ensure products are optimized for efficient assembly and quality.
Conduct PFMEA, capability studies, and pilot builds to ensure robust production processes.
Support training of production staff and ensure documentation is complete and standardized.
Track NPI KPIs such as first-pass yield, ramp-up time, and launch readiness.
Subject Matter Expert (SME) and trainer of CI tools (Mixed Model Lean, Six Sigma, SIOP, Sourcing, GDP, and KPIs).
Works to grow revenue & profit by delivering strong operational performance (SQDC).
Lead efforts to identify opportunities for automation and implementing automation projects
Utilize 80/20 methods, Lean Manufacturing, & Six Sigma tools drive focus on critical items that will yield the highest impact to the organization.
Establish CI Roadmap that deploys actions to achieve strategic goals.
Drives consistency and effective adoption of CI deployment in all areas.
Implement problem solving principles to identify root cause and corrective actions
Will help develop and maintain operational excellence and Quality KPI’s and countermeasures
Hands on participant of the Continuous Improvement/Kaizen processes by leading Rapid Improvement Events (RIE’s).
Support Goal Deployment Action Plans and improvement targets for the enterprise.
Drive sustainable and consistent quality processes throughout Gast/JUN-AIR with sound root cause analysis and countermeasures.
Build trust and credibility by leading by example.
Create regular communications with the value stream and vertical businesses (clear direction, regular updates on events/decisions, and accountability for achieving & sustaining RIE results).